Planting and early care
Try and obtain planting stock of local provenance. Many of the coppice species, notably sycamore, ash, birch and oak are easy to grow from seed and it is quite possible to gather your own seed and produce planting stock within two years. Willow is easy to propagate from cuttings, simply stuck in the ground in their final planting position. See Tree Planting and Aftercare – Planting and protection for further details.
Follow normal planting procedure, planting in autumn and paying particular attention to weed control in the following few years. It’s essential to get the plants established quickly so they grow up together and suppress weed growth. Replace immediately any plants that fail, so that even coverage is obtained.
Protection against rabbits and deer will be needed both for a few years after planting, and for the year following each coppice cut. Tree shelters can be used for the establishment of all species listed above except for hazel, because of its multi-stemmed growth. However, as shelters cannot be used to protect new regrowth, a fence which encloses the coppice plot or coupe, and protects both initial growth and regrowth, is preferable. For further details on treeshelters and other tree protection, see Chapter 6 – Planting and early care. For further details on protecting coppice regrowth, see here.
Starting the coppice cycle
The first coppice cut should be made as soon as the trees are established, at 5 to 8 years, or when the crop reaches marketable size. Coppices for firewood should be first cut when there is material suitable for the fire, which would normally be between 7 and 10 years. An earlier cut, at 2-3 years, will encourage a better yield in the first crop, but will delay it by a few years.
The first coppicing should be done in March or April, so that the new shoots emerge in June, after any risk of frost.
